BroMo's British Birthday Bites: The Parish

********THIS RESTAURANT IS NOW CLOSED.********

I interrupt our anniversary weekend coverage to bring you Brother Monkey cheer!  I know there are many fangirls out there!

BroMo is having a gigantic joint birthday bash tonight.  But we celebrated on a much smaller scale on Wednesday night at The Parish, which has moved into the old space of the departed Angelique Cafe.

The Parish purports to "bring you a true twist on the English gastropub."

Translation: British small plates.

Disco Nap -- grappa, aperol, muddled lemon, mint ($16).
Black Bee -- bourbon, lemon juice, honey, stout ($12).

I had the Disco Nap, and BroMo had the Black Bee at the bar while we waited for his friend Aziz.  Mr. Monkey had a housemade ginger ale.  Good drinks, all.

Deviled eggs ($6).

I opted out of this one, but the guys each had a bright bite to start.

Grilled corn with honeycomb butter ($6).

Rest assured, we got two plates, so we each had half a sweet buttery ear.

Poutine of crispy pork shoulder with paneer, mint, and peas ($14).

Doesn't this sound incredible?  I thought so.  But it was disappointingly only "very good."

Haricots verts, grilled peaches, garam masala, burrata ($13).

Refreshing and summery.  Green beans were crisp.  Burrata and peaches were a delight.  The menu fails to inform you that there are random pieces of potato in here.  Those were not a delight, especially when I thought I was going to eat a peach.  Boo on you, potato interlopers.

Mojama, duck egg, truffle, potatoes ($16).

Mojama, mo' problems.  Very very salty.  But apparently it's supposed to be.  Mojama is salt-cured tuna.  Think lox but with tuna.  And much saltier.  I wasn't a fan.  I don't think Aziz was either.  BroMo and Mr. Mo ate most of this.

Fish and chips ($20).

My second-favorite dish of the night.  Golden, crunchy, and not laden with oil.  Excellent batter ratio.  Definitely get this.

Telegraph porter sausage, pickled cherries, parsnip puree ($14).

Mr. Monkey was amused that the sausage looked like a hockey puck.  And that was the most interesting thing about this yawn of a dish.

Meat pie -- braised beef, Stichelton, escarole ($20).

My third-favorite dish of the night.  Flaky crust.  Tender beef.  Strong bleu.  And just enough bitterness from the greens.

Fried chicken, grilled peaches, tomatoes, and currant vinaigrette ($23).

I saved the best for last.  It was close call between this and the fish and chips, but I'm awarding this chicken my gold star of the night.  So crunchy.  So juicy.  So flavorful.  You want this.

The Parish is off to a good start, and I can confidently state that somebody in the kitchen is a master fryer.  I hope I'm not too full to try dessert next time.  Happy birthday, BroMo!